Dan Lonai, director of administrative services for Umatilla County, runs a batch of ballot envelopes before dropping them off to be counted Nov. 5, 2024, at the Umatilla County Elections Office in Pendleton.

PENDLETON — A tied race in the McKay Dam Fire District is about to get a winner — and it will be up to the luck of the cut.

After no candidates filed for Position 5 in the district in the May 20 special district election, voters wrote in candidates. Daniel F. Byrd and Bridget VanCleave ended up getting four votes each, elections officials confirmed June 17 by a hand recount. The district mostly covers the north side of McKay Reservoir, about 8 miles south of Pendleton.

Breaking the tie comes down to cutting a deck of cards June 25, at 9 a.m. in the Elections Office at the county courthouse in Pendleton. If Byrd or VanCleave attend, they may cut the deck themselves, but if they aren’t present, a county staff member will stand in for them. The higher card wins.

The tiebreaking process with write-in candidates for a taxing district position during a special election is up to the county, said Stephen Craigen, the county’s elections/records supervisor. For some, that may mean flipping a coin, others might choose to draw straws.

“It just has to be something random and not based on skill,” he said.

Dan Lonai, Umatilla County director of administrative services, said it’s “a really, really low number” of people determining the outcome, as basically four people out of the whole district decided who would represent them as a director.

“People may not think that it really matters much, but when there’s an emergency, it is important,” said Lonai. “All these special districts are important.”

The district has 528 eligible voters, 180 of whom participated in the election and only 15 who voted for someone to fill Position 5 — less than 3% of the total voters.

Lonai and Craigen recounted the ballots, determining Byrd and VanCleave did tie. The positions are at-large, meaning the only qualification is living somewhere in the district, which both Byrd and VanCleave do.

Members of the public are welcome at the deck cutting, as are the candidates themselves. If candidates or their representatives cut the same card, elections officials will reshuffle the deck and candidates cut again until they cut different cards. Lonai said they will decide on the day of the decision whether an ace is high or low.

Other race recounts

The McKay Dam Fire District is not the only race in Eastern Oregon that triggered an automatic hand recount. Also in Umatilla County was Position 5 for the Milton-Freewater Valley Ambulance District.

In that race, however, one of the tied candidates did not live in the taxing district, so the other automatically won. The county elections office announced Jonathon Hart as the nominated write-in candidate for the position.

Baker County conducted an automatic recount for the West Eagle Valley Water Control District, at-large position.

Meanwhile, Grant County recounted June 18 for the Grant County Transportation District, John Day Rural Fire District, Monument Cemetery District, and Long Creek School District, Position 5.

Oregon Secretary of State Tobia Read said in a press release the statewide recounts show just how important elections are.

“These elections will have a major impact on Oregonians’ lives, from deciding how we manage our water to how we run schools and fight wildfires — and they’ll be decided by just a few votes,” according to Read.

Write-in candidates, including the Mckay Dam Fire District winner, will receive an acceptance form to complete by 5 p.m. July 2 if they want to step into the role. If they do not complete and return the form by the deadline, the position will be declared vacant and the district board will appoint someone to fill it.